I'm Thankful For You
by ennisjackgal
Summary: One Shot in the Lessons In Love universe. Ennis and Jack are spending Thanksgiving at Jack's parents' house in West Virginia, and as the family think about what they are thankful for this year, Ennis and Jack already know what they have to give thanks for.


**I'm Thankful For You**

_November 27th, 2008_

Ennis and Jack were sat on their sofa, waiting for the taxi to take them to the airport. They were due to spend Thanksgiving dinner tonight with Jack's family in West Virginia, and were looking forward to it. This would be the second time of doing this; they usually cooked for themselves on the holiday.

As they waited, Jack was holding Ennis's hand and playing with his fingers; a gesture he loved. He'd always liked Ennis's strong, hardworking hands; how they could hold him tight and give him comfort and security, and also how they could be light and tantalising to drive him crazy.

"Guess we got a lot to be thankful for, huh?" Ennis broke into the silence. Jack nodded.

"Yeah. We got married this year, Ennis. Legally, too. And in front of our family and friends. I'd say we're pretty damn lucky to have all this. I remember when we met, at the dorm room. You were so nervous...and all I wanted to do was make you comfortable."

"You did," Ennis reassured him. "Even before I started likin' you...I knew I was happy to have you as a friend. Like when I was all torn up about my dad not talkin' to me...you was there for me, makin' me feel better." He smiled at Jack and planted a kiss in his hair. "You still make me feel better when I ain't feelin' too good."

"That's what husbands are for," Jack replied softly, smiling back at him. Ennis nodded and they leaned in, mouths meeting like magnets. They kissed slowly, lost in their own world. Jack couldn't believe how far they had come in the last five years; they had started out as roommates and friends, and now they were legally married and very much in love. It hadn't been all smooth sailing, but things were much better for them now. They were living in a place that was very friendly towards them and accepting of their relationship; it was the safest place for them to live together and have a future.

Ennis was very thankful that Jack hadn't given up on him, despite how much he had struggled now and then with their relationship. He had had moments of self-doubt and fear, but their love for each other had won out in the end. And he was glad that he'd chosen to pursue his feelings for Jack; he could have run after that encounter in the locker room, could have left and never come back. But he had returned and they had ended up making love, and falling in love. He would never regret returning to the room that night.

"Love you," he whispered as they broke apart. Jack smiled and stroked his cheek gently.

"Love you too." They kissed again and nuzzled noses, just as they heard a car horn outside. They grabbed their suitcases and carry-ons and then headed out of the door, locking it and then down the corridor hand in hand.

* * *

Once on the plane and up in the air, Jack leaned into Ennis and smiled at him. "You know...when they say we can take our seatbelts off...you wanna renew our membership to the Mile High Club?" Ennis caught the gleam in Jack's eyes and smirked.

"That what you wanna do, bud?" he asked nonchalantly, and Jack nodded.

"Sure do. What do you say?" Jack replied, trailing his fingers lightly over Ennis's leg.

"Sounds good to me." When they were told they could remove their seatbelts off, Jack undid his eagerly and kissed Ennis's cheek.

"See you in there, cowboy." He practically skipped down to the restrooms, leaving Ennis shaking his head in amusement. After a few minutes, he undid his own belt and followed after Jack, hoping that he wasn't being obvious.

He found the occupied stall and Jack pulled him inside, a grin on his face. "Hey there."

"Hey yourself," Ennis replied, and was rendered speechless when Jack kissed him, mouth planting on his. They kissed fiercely as they moved about the small space, trying to find a good position. Ever since the first time they had taken a flight together, they had always seen this as the highlight.

Ennis pushed Jack against the wall and prised his lips away, instead fixing them on Jack's neck as they undid their jeans. Jack pulled out a small, travel-size bottle of lube, smiling.

"All yours, cowboy." Ennis took it with a grin and kissed Jack before turning him around. Jack braced his hands on the wall and shivered in anticipation of what was to come. He was very thankful that Ennis was such an amazing lover. He could be gentle and forceful at the same time, and it drove Jack insane.

Ennis slicked himself up and slowly pushed in, grabbing Jack around the middle. He knew how Jack liked it and when he liked it a certain way. Right now, he knew Jack wanted it hard and fast, and was happy to oblige. He thrust in quickly and roughly, hearing Jack gasping and groaning.

"That feel good, baby?" he breathed into Jack's ear, and Jack nodded.

"Fuck...sure does...keep goin'..." He screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, the pleasure crashing down on him in waves. "Fuck me..."

Ennis did as he was asked, and then reached down to take Jack in hand, stroking him off. When he came with a groan, and realised that Jack wasn't quite finished, he quickly pulled out. Before Jack could register what had happened, he was spun around and Ennis was on his knees in front of him, sucking him off. Jack couldn't move, and could barely think as he felt Ennis's warm, moist mouth on him.

He came with a low moan and stood there, trembling a little. His head was still spinning as Ennis stood up and cleaned them both up with paper towels.

"Jesus," he breathed. "What was that about?"

Ennis shrugged. "Didn't wanna leave a mess," he said with a grin.

* * *

They landed at Elkins Airport some time later, looking forward to spending dinner with Jack's family. Ever since he'd first brought Ennis here for their first Christmas together, his family had welcomed Ennis with open arms. Especially since he and Ennis had married, his family treated Ennis as one of their own.

When they arrived at the house, Jack knocked on the door and it was opened by his mother. Karen smiled widely when she saw them.

"Jack! Ennis! So good to see you..." She pulled them both into a hug, happy to see her boys again. Jack had always been very thankful that she and his father had been so accepting about him being gay, and that Ennis was the man he'd chosen to spend his life with.

"Good to see you too, mom," he told her, grinning. She let them go and waved them inside.

"Come on, then. Dinner's gonna be a few hours yet, but there's lots of family here already. I know they wanna see you guys. I told them all about your wedding and I've been showing them photos." As she spoke, she indicated for them to leave their luggage in the hall. The housekeeper knew they were coming and knew where they would be sleeping.

Karen led them into the kitchen, where they were greeted by many of Jack's family. They all swarmed around, asking to see the rings and hear details of the wedding. Ennis and Jack found themselves the centre of attention and were soon talking about the ceremony.

"On the beach at sunset," said one female relative wistfully. "That's so romantic." Jack smiled at Ennis; it had been his idea. "And it's such a beautiful place you're living in."

"Sure is," Jack agreed, nodding. "They're really friendly to gay people. We've got some good friends." It was true; they had met a few other gay couples in the area that had welcomed them, including two women. This year's Gay Pride in the area had been amazing due to the atmosphere.

"That's great," Richard said, clearly happy for his son. He'd never had a real problem with Jack being gay, but he had worried that his son might find it hard to have a relationship. Considering how much homophobia still existed, he had naturally hoped that Jack would find someone; a man he could be with without having to hide. Now he had found it.

Jack smiled at his husband and everybody there caught the look of pure adoration that passed between them. They all loved Jack, and now their love extended to Ennis for making him happy. That was something that they were all very thankful for; that Ennis was looking after Jack as well as he could.

When the crowd dispersed, Jack leaned in to whisper in Ennis's ear. "I'm thinking you're a hero, bud. For making me happy."

Ennis kissed his cheek. "You make me happy too, darlin'." Their hands found each other and they just sat there happily.

* * *

A few hours later, Karen called everybody to the table for dinner. There was a sizeable group there, and Ennis was happy to see that Jack had so many family members that loved him, and them.

Everybody linked hands and Richard offered up a prayer of thanks, and then they began to eat. There was the huge turkey, trays of potatoes and vegetables and tureens of gravy. Ennis could remember Thanksgivings back in Wyoming with his parents; they had never had much food on the table.

When he'd first met Jack, and realised that he came from a well-off family, Ennis had been a little intimidated. Coming from a poorer family had made him feel a divide between them at first. But as they had become friends and then lovers, the feeling had melted away. Jack had never acted like a spoilt rich kid, and had always been very friendly. He clearly didn't care that Ennis didn't have much to offer him financially; he'd always told Ennis that the love he offered him meant more than material things.

As they ate their dinner, they occasionally glanced at each other. Jack had wound his foot around Ennis's leg and was letting it rest there. Nobody else noticed and Ennis liked having it there.

When dinner was finally over and nobody could move, they all stated what they were thankful for this year.

"I'm thankful that all of my children are happy," said Karen. "And that Jack's found a good man who'll make him happy." Jack smiled at her and took Ennis's hand.

"I'm thankful that I met Ennis, because I honestly don't know where I'd be right now if I hadn't. I can still remember meeting him that day at college. When he walked in the doorway...and our eyes met. I just felt like I'd finally met someone special, even then." He squeezed Ennis's hand and they smiled at each other.

"Um...I'm thankful for meetin' Jack, too. He's been great...the best husband anybody could ask for. I hope I make him as happy as he makes me. An' I know I'm always gonna love him." The others made sounds of approval and the rest of the table stated what they were thankful for. But all of this was a blur to the two young men. They continued to hold hands and gaze lovingly at one another, thinking over their words about each other.

Later, when they were drinking wine in a small sitting room off the main hall, they relaxed on the sofa and talked about their day, reminiscing especially on their high-altitude encounter earlier.

"Tell you what, sure was something," Jack said, smiling at Ennis. He had enjoyed it.

"Yeah...you felt real good." His eyes were glittering and Jack knew the look; he was getting turned on. He always recognised that look. "Um...you wanna...?"

Jack grinned. "Sure." They finished their wine and Jack took the glasses back to the kitchen, before taking Ennis by the hand and leading him upstairs.

* * *

They fell onto the bed together, full of laughter and wine. Jack kissed Ennis deeply as they moved up the bed, hands pawing at each other's jeans.

"Mmm...gotta get these off," Jack mumbled into Ennis's mouth, and Ennis made a sound of approval in his throat. They prised themselves apart and sat up, tearing off their shirts and jeans, throwing them across the room. Jack then rolled on top of Ennis and kissed him.

"Know what I wanna do to you?" he asked, eyes glittering. "I wanna suck you off, and want you to suck me off at the same time. A sixty-nine, what do you say?"

"Okay," Ennis replied, liking Jack's idea. He had always loved doing that with Jack, and there was plenty of room on this bed. Jack flipped himself around so he was facing the end of the bed, and his crotch was in Ennis's face. Being slightly taller, Ennis curled himself slightly so that Jack could get to him. With a glance at each other, they went to work.

Jack rubbed Ennis's hip slowly as he sucked him, and then trailed his hand to Ennis's balls. He squeezed and caressed, driving Ennis further into his mouth. Ennis was giving it right back, pushing a finger into Jack and using every trick he knew to drive Jack crazy. Jack trembled slightly, knowing that Ennis was doing this on purpose. In retaliation, he employed a trick that never failed. He placed his hand on Ennis's lower stomach, which was always sensitive when he was hard and yearning for release, and began to rub very slowly across it. Jack dipped his hand right to where his hip muscle was, hearing Ennis's moan and knowing it was working. He smiled to himself and continued to rub as he sucked his lover off, feeling Ennis's stomach clench in as his orgasm started to rip through him. Ennis exploded into his mouth and Jack was very thankful he didn't have a gag reflex.

He swallowed it all down and felt himself come, groaning and shaking. Ennis took it all and they rolled away from each other, panting and staring up at the ceiling. Neither of them could think of a better way to have celebrated the holiday together.

"Damn, cowboy," Jack breathed, turning around and crawling back up, resting his head on Ennis's chest. Ennis automatically put his arms around Jack and kissed his forehead.

"I know. Sure am thankful for that gift," he replied, feeling Jack laughing against him. "God, I love you..."

"I love you too," Jack said softly, hearing the steady heartbeat near his ear. "So much...and I'm really thankful that we're together. Was never easy, but...I'm glad we got through it. I don't know where I'd be if we hadn't met."

"Me neither. Would've been unhappy all my life, an' not knowin' why. Sure am glad I met you, darlin'."

"Yeah." There were no more words as they dropped off to sleep together, thankful for each other.


End file.
